Hairy Beardtongue

(Penstemon hirsutus)

 

   

 

 

Color Photograph: Copyright Nearctica.com, Inc.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Hairy Beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus [L.] Willd.)

Identification: Flower light violet to violet, with a long, narrow, tubular corolla and 5 free petal lobes. Petal lobes divided into a group of 3 below and a group of 2 above. Upper group of 2 lobes usually more forward than the lower group of 3. A single stamen with a tuft of hair. Flower stalk (pedicel) thin and long. Flowers arranged in a terminal spike. Stem woolly. Leaves elongate to ovate-elongate, in opposite pairs, and the outer margin toothed. Plant 1 to 3 feet in height.

Distribution: Minnesota in the west to New England in the east, southward to Alabama,

Habitat: Hairy Beardtongue is found in rocky woods and fields.

Flowering period: June to July.

Similar Species: The elongate, thin violet flowers ands the hairy stems will usually separate this Hairy Beardtongue from other Penstemon species.

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